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Bitcoin vs. Altcoins: In which cryptocurrency should you invest?

By Guardian Nigeria
17 March 2023   |   11:36 am
With numerous new cryptocurrency projects surfacing yearly, choosing the best asset is challenging today. The leading player, Bitcoin, has been around for over ten years. Bitcoin has always been the reference point for all new crypto projects. The industry refers to all the new cryptocurrencies as "alternative coins" (Altcoins). Bitcoin Millionaire Pro is a website…

PHOTO: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

With numerous new cryptocurrency projects surfacing yearly, choosing the best asset is challenging today. The leading player, Bitcoin, has been around for over ten years. Bitcoin has always been the reference point for all new crypto projects. The industry refers to all the new cryptocurrencies as “alternative coins” (Altcoins). Bitcoin Millionaire Pro is a website where people buy, sell and trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

So far, Ethereum, the most successful and largest altcoin, is the second largest cryptocurrency in the world after Bitcoin. Ethereum boasts a total market share constituting roughly 21% of the cryptocurrency market. Conversely, Bitcoin and all its related assets account for up to 41% of the crypto market.

While Bitcoin and altcoins differ, their prices have always followed similar trends. For example, the prices exhibit high Volatility in both cases. Generally, altcoin prices also tend to skyrocket whenever Bitcoin prices rise. Similarly, altcoins continuously depreciated anytime Bitcoin’s price curve fell.

Technical Features

Bitcoin

Bitcoin network takes a decentralized architecture, rendering any intermediaries useless. Securing the crypto network is an immensely robust technology, the blockchain. Bitcoin’s blockchain also acts as a public ledger, showing all transaction details, from the first to the most recent.

To supply additional coins into the network, Bitcoin relies on mining. The mining process lets new Bitcoins into circulation through block rewards. However, the particular equipment miners use consumes enormous amounts of energy.

Bitcoin block rewards diminish by 50% approximately every four years (Bitcoin halving). Moreover, the cumulative number of minable BTC from the Bitcoin system is 21 million. So, capping the total minable BTC at 21 million and Bitcoin halving makes Bitcoin a rare currency. And this discourages excessive supply and eventually prevents inflation.

Altcoins

Like Bitcoin, altcoin projects run on decentralized blockchain-based platforms. That means altcoin networks are also secure with faster peer-to-peer signal transmissions during transactions. Significantly, most altcoins also depend on mining to create and supply additional coins.

Altcoins like Ethereum don’t have a pre-determined maximum number of minable coins. Additionally, they don’t experience halving as Bitcoin, thus making them less effective in deflating the financial markets.

Bitcoin Investments

Bitcoin has been in use for at least a decade. It has experienced numerous turbulences and recovered successfully afterward. What’s more, experts have enough data they use to predict Bitcoin’s price behaviors accurately. Bitcoin’s many years have also earned its people’s trust and allowed it to spread to many locations.

If you follow financial and technology news regularly, you’ll admit that Bitcoin has become a future world hope. Some countries have declared it a legal tender, while others are preparing to do the same. Notably, the number of merchants accepting BTC payments has grown exponentially recently. All these show a more appealing future for Bitcoin.

Investing in Altcoins

You must recognize the rapid emergence and growth of various altcoins. This group of cryptocurrencies comes with a diversity second to no other asset. First, there are hundreds of coins in which one can invest. Additionally, you can engage in building blockchain-based applications and still earn income.

Altcoins also have higher operational efficiencies than Bitcoin. That means users enjoy faster and more affordable transactions. Altcoins embrace environmental conservation because their mining requires relatively less energy than Bitcoin mining.

Unfortunately, most altcoins are experimental projects. We still need time to learn more about their investment potential. Moreover, experts need more data to predict altcoin price trends to facilitate sound investment decisions adequately. Finally, some altcoins may only stay for a short time. Unlike Bitcoin, most of them don’t have promising futures.

Final Verdict!

Bitcoin and altcoins both are significant investment assets. People have used Bitcoin for several years, while most altcoins have been around for a while to determine their potential. Additionally, Bitcoin has spread to more places than altcoins. Notably, Bitcoin’s high value makes it a more appealing investment option.

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